Date: Friday, September 30th, 2022
Source: Wall Street Journal
The Port of Charleston, one of the largest container ports on the East Coast, has sent all cargo vessels out to sea and will close Friday as South Carolina braces for a new landfall by Ian.
The South Carolina Ports Authority said it expects the port to be shut only for a day and to reopen on Saturday.
“We have organized the yards and secured equipment in preparation,” the port authority said in a written statement. “All operations have finished for vessels and vessels have departed.”
Ian hit Florida on Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane and has been downgraded to a tropical storm after moving across the state and into the Atlantic Ocean. It is expected to pick up force again and make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane somewhere near Charleston.
Florida’s largest cargo port at Jacksonville remained closed on Thursday under the threat of gale-force winds and storm surges. Authorities at other big trade gateways reported no major damage from Ian.
Port Tampa Bay, which averted a direct hit when the hurricane made landfall in southwestern Florida, resumed landside operations. Fuel trucks were filling up at terminals there to distribute fuel to the region.